This was a really cute romance.
I really liked the multicultural characters, the gorgeous setting, and I also liked the backstory of the main character who was coping with the death of her father while also helping out her mother.
It had a lot of heart and was a lot of fun without being pure fluff. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more books by this author.

Simmer Down definitely simmered down by the end of the book. The main characters personalities were interesting at first but eventually became more and more repetitive. It was awesome to see the cultural aspects of Hawaii and the main characters. The rivalry between Nikki and Callum was fun, hilarious, and interesting at first but once they buried the cooking knives, Nikki still came off as rude and uncaring. The theme of trust is throughout the novel and even though there’s a happy ending (duh!), Nikki’s battle of trust rubbed me the wrong way at times. 3.5/5

The outstanding second book for the debut author Sarah Smith! I thoroughly enjoyed her first book Faker and I enjoyed this one just as much (maybe even more)! The whole food truck vs food truck concept was definitely new for me but enemies to lovers? Always a yes in my book.
The story was delightful, funny, and emotionally investing! 5/5 stars!

I absolutely loved Simmer Down! I'm a huge fan of Sarah Smith from her first book, "Faker" and her second novel was even better. She transported me to Hawaii (which is where I wish I was) and the delicious food being made with her descriptive paragraphs. I also completely bought the hot dynamic between the two characters and I loved that "will they" "won't they" dynamic.

I really thought that I would enjoy this book. The premise is cute and being set in Hawaii I thought it would be a fun read.

But it just wasn’t for me. I did not enjoy either of the main characters and that made it hard to get into. The romance seemed kind of forced to me also.

While it wasn’t for me I think a lot of people would enjoy it!

A rom-com that takes place in Hawaii? It's 2020, yes, please! Unfortunately, this book was not a perfect match for me. I found the male lead too confident. I feel bad for saying that because confidence should not be a bad thing, but his personality wasn't for me. This book started off hot and steamy, I prefer very PG nerves and butterflies over steam. All that aside, this is a friend's to lover story with delicious food, competition and. Classic stubbornness.

3.5 stars
This book is full of tropes and a refreshing storyline that I haven't read before. Nikki runs a food truck with her mother in Maui and has earned her spot. So imagine her frustration when a new food truck encroaches on her territory and the British grump Callum refuses to play by the food truck rules. They play pranks on each other and get on each other's nerves. They decide to duke it out at the Maui food festival. Whoever wins gets to keep the spot and the other must pack up and go.
Nikki and Callum's constant butting of heads is fun to read and their witty banter is even better. Everything mentioned that they serve from the food trucks sounds delicious and I wish I could eat their creations for real. There's a social media presence that I found annoying in the beginning and then it really starts to grow on you. Nikki makes friends and finds new opportunities. I LOVE Nikki's mom because she's no-nonsense and very sweet. Callum's brother Finn is also enjoyable. Nikki and Callum have some great chemistry and it sizzles when you get to it. On a side note, this author really puts detail into the description of her characters and love scenes. Not necessarily a bad thing but it's one of those 'best sex I have ever and will ever have' kind of scenes. Never expected a self love scene but it also seemed really long to me. In listening to this on audiobook, the narrator seems way too into it. There's a balance between putting no emotion into reading sex scenes and sounding like you're enjoying the words too much and the narrator was definitely tipping the scales.
The transition of enemies to lovers and frenemies with benefits actually happens less than halfway through the book which always weakens things for me. It's getting the rating it is because it suffers from the same thing many romcoms do: lack of communication. It's impossible to keep things casual and not catch feelings so you can see it from a mile away. The conflict seems to be drawn out for too long and you just want to slap some sense into them. Their feelings are clear to everyone but themselves so there's a whole lot of angst in the latter half of the book. As a whole, I quite enjoyed this book. I loved the food truck competition aspect, I loved the family aspect, and the romance was great too

Simmer Down is some of the best rom-com I've read this year. Nikki DeMarco and her mom run a food truck in Hawaii; it was her father's dream, stolen by cancer, so Nikki's trying to make it a reality. But she shows up to the truck one day and discovers some guy has committed a serious breach in etiquette and parked right next to her: and, despite being gorgeous, is a total jerk about it. Callum is brash, British, and doesn't walk away from a fight. Their arguments make for social media gold, so when the two discover that the chemistry between them is too hot to be ignored, they hook up in secret. But Nikki is afraid to get too close to anyone again, still grieving for her dad, and can't get out of her own way. Dueling food truck owners, angsty backstories, enemies-to-lovers, and sexy times for all make this essential winter romance reading.

Such a good book to read in amongst a myriad of fantasy, this is reread one for sure. So wonderfully written

Nikki has to leave her dream job to go to Hawaii to help her mother with the family's food truck. Obviously, as in any business, there're rules and one of them is not to park your food truck in the same place as another one, that's how Nikki faces Callum and they start a rivalry in order to work in that space.
To be honest, when I was reading the first couple of chapters I thought it was going to be one of my favorites, unfortunately the hype went down as the plot progressed.
I love the enemies to lovers trope, and that's how the story begins, but then their rivalry is resolved very quickly.
Also, there're many parts that were repetitive and very convenient for the main characters.
I wish there was a little more drama.

Simmer Down by Sarah Smith is a contemporary romance. Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot. But Tiva’s Filipina Kusina has faced bigger road bumps than the arrival of Callum James. Nikki doesn’t care how delectable the British food truck owner is—he rudely set up shop next to her coveted beach parking spot. He’s stealing her customers and fanning the flames of a public feud that makes her see sparks. The solution? Let the upcoming Maui Food Festival decide their fate. Winner keeps the spot. Loser pounds sand. But the longer their rivalry simmers, the more Nikki starts to see a different side of Callum…a sweet, protective side. Is she brave enough to call a truce? Or will trusting Callum with her heart mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire?

Simmer Down is a well written romance, but one that I had trouble getting lost in. This could very well have been because I read it during election week and the world was more than a little stressful. It took me a while to get into the story, and I did enjoy the heart of it once it got going. I thought the chemistry between Callum and Nikki was well done, and the circumstances that landed them both in food trucks in Maui at the same time were handled well as well. I got a kick out of some of their heated interactions, and understood some of the reluctance for opening up as well. However, I will admit that I was annoyed with Nikki more than once, and I saw the majority of their issues coming. A good conversation rather than avoidance would have been a good start, and not necessarily have wrapped things up too early to make a good story. I did enjoy the read despite my annoyance with Nikki and the distractions from the outside world. Although, it did make me hungry while reading.

Simmer Down is a solid contemporary romance, but I just could not get as engaged in it as much as I hoped.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sarah Smith for my copy of Simmer Down, for an honest review. This super cute Rom Com, was such an easy, enjoyable read. Nikki Demarco & her mom are running the food truck that her parents dreamed of running. Only problem is Nikki’s dad passes away and her life gets turned upside down. As Nikki starts to get her footing, 2 brothers, park their food truck next to Nikki’s. The banter between Nikki and Callum and their trucks is funny. The love story to follow fell a little flat. There was a lot of going back and forth with the characters and at times it felt forced. Over all this was a 3 star read for me. I liked the feeling of family/loyalty between Nikki and her mother and Callum and his brother. The setting was great and the food trucks/competition was also good. This follows the usual Rom Com pattern and that was ok. That’s what I was looking for. I enjoyed this book overall and gave it 3 stars. I did recommend it to friends and family and on Instagram. I also posted reviews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Food trucks, Hawaii and enemies to lovers - what's not to enjoy? From the delicious food descriptions to the sexy banter, Simmer Down was a fun romance that I breezed through but ultimately, didn't connect with the characters the way I usually do in my romance reads and found them forgettable once the pages were closed. This is my second read from Smith and I will continue to check out her work in the future, as I enjoyed her first novel, Faker, a great deal.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute and comforting read. Food plus romance is a great combination and Sarah Smith didn't disappoint with her second book. I loved the chemistry between Callum and Nikki and their romance was A+ cute.

Who doesn't love a rom-com about food? When I saw that Simmer Down featured a hate-to-love relationship (one of my favorite tropes) between two rival food truck owners and the heroine's was called Tiva's Filipina Kusina, I knew I had to read this. I'll admit, it didn't end up becoming a favorite but it was enjoyable and if anything else, it made me want to order Filipino food for takeout. Or try cooking some dishes myself! Nikki DiMarco quit her dream job to move to Maui to help her mom run a food truck serving up Filipino dishes. They have an established spot on the beach which is threatened when Callum James and his brother arrive and decide to park right next to them. A feud immediately erupts between them and soon they decide the only way to settle it is by entering the Maui Food Festival and whoever wins gets to keep the spot. I would say the set up of the story was great, the food deliciously described, and the mother-daughter dynamic is one I very much understood. However I thought everything else was lacking. The romance was had its swoon-worthy moments but had equally cringeworthy ones. The conflict was a bit contrived and predictable. But most of all, I would've liked to see more individual character, as well as romantic relationship, development to feel more emotionally invested in the story playing out.

Do I recommend? If you want something quick to read and enjoy stories involving food, I think this could be fun to borrow from the library.

2.5* | As a food-obsessed half-Filipina who loves exploring faraway places, Simmer Down should have been right up my alley... Sadly, though, I just couldn’t get into it. I adored Nikki’s mother, armchair travelling to Hawaii and London, and all the scrumptious food descriptions — but romances that feel overly contrived are just not for me.

I know there are many romance-readers who will love this book... I really do wish I was one of them.

I really loved this one! The plot, the characters and I loved learning about the different foods! This was a lot of fun and I highly recommend it!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm going to cut right to the chase because I don't like writing long, negative reviews. SIMMER DOWN may have a favorable audience, but it's not me. I did not like either of the lead characters. Major plot points felt contrived at best or made no sense at worst. I give the book two stars because I did finish it, although I skimmed a fair bit.

Simmer Down has a lot of elements that set it apart from the typical girl-meets-boy storyline:

1. Food trucks in Hawaii
2. Filipino + British food
3. An occasional nude beach

All of the above plus a healthy handful of other fun details adds up to a fun read that I finished in a little over a day. Solid 4 stars for this well-written vacation away from the snowy Midwest!

Thank you to @berkleypub for gifting me Simmer Down by Sarah Smith!!

Another great romance read added to my TBR! Two determined and hardworking characters, that find themselves in an unusual battle over a food truck parking spot! What unfolds is a hilarious competition that leads to the perfect amount of steaminess! There was a quick transition from the usually s endows to lovers trope but it worked for me!